So, I’m bopping alone, singing a song, day by day. I finally put together an ebook manuscript for writers….”The Ultimate Writing Guide,” and that’s all ready to convert into an ebook.

I also made the decision to self-publish “Shadows Kill,” the first in my “Shadows” series. That needs to be formatted as well. I have covers for both books, thanks to my writer friend Mike (mcbirdbks on HubPages). I owe a great debt of gratitude to Mike for doing that for me.

And I’m working on the second in the “Shadows” series, “Shadows Over Innocence.” I just finished the first draft of that book, so now the editing begins.

When will the ebooks be published? I have no clue. Technology completely confuses me, and I’ve never tried to do this formatting thing for Kindle or for CreateSpace, so it will be very slow going on that front. I’ll keep plugging along and hopefully it won’t take me too many months to get that done. I’d like both books available for purchase by the end of October but, well, there are no promises when it comes to me and technology.

I’m also helping Bev out by doing some of her merchandising stores. She was recently named supervisor for the entire state of Washington and that means she needs some help, so I’m the backup plan and I’m happy to help her.

And of course the urban farm keeps me busy.

Change and progress….where would we be without them?

TIP OF THE DAY

I have made no secret of the fact that I am not a fan of ebooks, but the fact remains that they are going to increase in importance in the next few years. Finding an agent or publisher in the traditional publishing business is a brutal undertaking, and quite frankly I no longer have the desire to fight that fight. I’ll just self-publish and be happy with whatever results occur.

And the tip of the day? Never let your reluctance to change get in the way of progress.

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25 Responses to “Progress an Inch at a Time”

Aw, Bill loved the update here today and was pleasantly surprised to see an email in my mailbox. I am reading your latest and eating lunch. Absolutely perfect way to complete my lunch by the way! I love that you wrote a technical book on writing and am excited to check that out now, but I do know what you mean as I have never formatted an ebook (believe it or not) either, so I think if I tried it would be a bit slow going for me, as well. Congrats again to Bev and wishing you a very, Happy Tuesday now!! 🙂

Janine, you have no idea how happy I am to read you have never formatted an ebook. For some reason I consider you a tech wiz, so the fact that you don’t know how to do it either makes me feel good. LOL Thank you for that, my friend. Have a superb Tuesday.

Need some advice for formatting your book into e-book form? Google Smashwords, and when you get to the site, find the Smashwords Style Guide which tells step-by-step how to format for every form of e-book. Its FREE. Yeah, I know this sounds like a commercial, but this untechy writer found it a must for anyone who wants to self-publish e-books. If you still don’t know have a clue, well perhaps I can help you out.

I hear you, Bill. The eBook publishing structure is really difficult to master. My brain gets so scrambled trying to figure it all out. I read somewhere that people are “developing” shorter attention spans. They (whoever “they” are) prefer short stories and things they can read and get on with their busy life. As writers, we can fight it or we can get with the program. In other words, we do ourselves a favor when we are flexible, especially if we want to be mainstream writers.

I’ve always thought I’d self publish – when I feel the time is right. I have four…or is it five? – first drafts under my belt. It’s one of those things that yes, maybe some of it IS about trying to get something finished before I lose motivation to do so. And yes, I’d even say I’ve made up excuses.
However, I am not in any kind of race. And when that book finally ekes itself out of my brain that I feel is worthy of my brand and reputation, then I’ll finally get there. 🙂 It’s an epic journey.
I could very well be that old lady that has around 30 unfinished books before the first one gets published, but…at least I’ll have a lot of practice at writing a good story.
My whole problem is focus. And, I know that.
Apparently I’m doing a “full disclosure” comment here, too. Hehe. Thanks for always being encouraging, Big Bro. I love your particular ray of sunshine. It’s always a refreshing perspective.
Good luck and many congrats on your book accomplishments. 🙂

Hey Bill! I love that you’re still so passionate about writing and inspiring others to do the same, please never stop – the world needs more people like you. And I for one, can’t wait until your Shadow book series or the first one is published. I’m dying to read it – I read the little teaser you put out a few months ago and it hooked me immediately. Things are interesting here, I’ll say that much, but I’m just putting faith in what is meant to be, will be! Have an awesome day my friend 🙂

Billy Buc: I love your blogs, short, simple and to the point. My sister self published a book a few years ago and it is also an e-book…wondering if Author House did that for her? Both she and I are very low tech…me especially!
I totally justify your wanting to do e-books as they are becoming more popular, but I still feel in my gut there is a publisher out there that would grab both of your books. It is just my intuition because they are both excellent and page turners. Not to mention I would love to see both made into a movie, and I am not even done with reading your second draft!
I am certain when I finish my book, finding a publisher will be a doozy undertaking.
All this being said, I remember reading previously about Bev and her huge undertaking, which I think is terrific, what an HONOR for her, and how lucky she is to have you as a back-up!
I have both of you on my prayer list, and I am adamant in praying that a publisher grabs your books. I so believe in your writing talent!
I go to Barnes & Noble all the time and some of the books there are atrocious! I wonder how they EVER found a publisher! Your writing far exceeds – Next time I go, I’ll jot down a few titles and share them with you.
There is even a book about poop!
Keep up your inch at a time…with how we all seem to be busy, one inch is better than no inch and they add up.
God bless you real good, as well as your wife, family and wonderful ‘critter family’ including the cat and the dog. Lea/Sparklea 🙂

Lea, I never know what to say after you comment. You are so kind with your praise and I just don’t think I deserve it…but thank you. I do know you are right that many books out there are garbage or at the very least not well-written. It does make me wonder how in the world they found a publisher. Oh well, life is a mystery. I’ll keep working my craft and hope for the best.

Good to hear from you, Bill! Although, I’m jealous that it only takes you a few minutes to put together a blog post. Ugh! I write at a glacial pace, but nevermind!
I finished reading ‘Resurrecting Tobias’, and I enjoyed it. It’s well paced, and the characters were likable and believable. It’s hard to believe that so much tragedy could touch the lives of just a few people, but, sadly, sometimes tragedy is self-inflicted. The poetry was a bit of sticky spot for me. I know that it’s supposed to show the mindset of the main character as he makes his journey across America (as well as the journey back in time), but I found myself speed reading through it so that I could continue with the story. Overall, it has a lot of heart and a good dose of guts. I think that many readers could learn something about themselves by reading it.
I’m looking forward to reading ‘Shadows Kill’.
Happy writing!

Melissa, thank you so much for reading Tobias. You know what? I agree with you about the poetry. If I had to do it over again I probably would have shortened those parts quite a bit. Thank you for your honest feedback. I found it very helpful, and I really do appreciate you reading my book.